


The London Eyeful

by MusingsOnBuckyBarnes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action Figures, Alternate Universe, Cameos, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, London, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Tourism, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-04 18:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10996785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusingsOnBuckyBarnes/pseuds/MusingsOnBuckyBarnes
Summary: Bucky and Steve visit London for the first time together since World War II.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Other titles which I considered for this fic: “London, London, Take Me In” and “London, It’s Been a Long, Long Time”.

 

xXx

Avengers Tower:

“Clint and Natasha’s plans for their vacation have got me wanting to go somewhere too,” Steve said, looking at the map of Paris their friends had left on the communal coffee table. “I’ve got plenty of leave and you’ve definitely earned some time off after all your heroics on the last mission. What do you think?”

Bucky didn’t miss the way that Steve’s arm tightened unconsciously around his middle when he spoke about that mission. So, he nodded and replied, “I want to go back to England, especially London. Visit it as a tourist instead of as a soldier. And while I’m in my right mind.”

“That sounds like a great idea.”

“How often have you been there since you woke up from the ice?”

“A few times, but mostly on Avengers business.”

xXx

As soon as Tony found out what they were planning, he said, “Pepper, JARVIS and I can give you recommendations of great hotels or you can stay at my London townhouse. Actually, come to think of it, my London residence would be the better choice.”

Steve replied, “We’ve already found a hotel, in a great spot. But thanks for the offer, Tony.”

“Which one?”

Upon Steve’s reply, Tony spluttered and protested: “But that’s only three stars! And you two need soundproofing and reinforced bed frames! If you don’t care about your own comfort, at least consider that of the people in nearby rooms. They deserve uninterrupted sleep and for the floor and walls not to shake as if it’s an earthquake, not to mention they don’t deserve to develop a complex about their own sexual endurance!”

“Are you still annoyed about that chandelier?” Steve inquired. “We didn’t swing on it. We weren’t even in the same room as it!”

Tony said, “You were in the bedroom _above_ it. All of the crystals had to be put back into alignment. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.”

Bucky grinned and asked oh-so-innocently, “Just how many stars is your place and just how reinforced is it? And would we scandalize the live-in butler?”

“The staff there are used to cleaning up after my parties. Some of them recall my less-than-monogamous days. They’ve seen it all. Two gay super soldiers won’t be a problem for them. The staff will only come into the main section when you want them to, for agreed times to clean and cook. The townhouse is extremely structurally sound. And it’s near the British Museum.”

Bucky and Steve exchanged looks. Then Steve said, “I think you’ve made a very good offer. We’ll be glad to accept it.”

“Good. When are you thinking of going?”

“We thought it would be best to wait until Natasha and Clint do Paris,” Bucky replied.

Tony shook his head. “Nah, you can go at the same time, if you like, or overlap. We’ve got plenty of people we can rotate into the Avengers if needed, and I’ve got my automated suits on standby too. We won’t publicize the fact that you’re on leave though, otherwise the press will be breathing down your necks. They may work it out anyway, but we won’t give them any pre-warning. Though what is it with all this sudden vacation-taking?”

xXx

Their flight got in to Heathrow late in the evening. When they were collecting their bags, Bucky said quietly to Steve, “I read that when homosexuality was made legal over here, a reporter asked a member of the public what he thought about that and got the reply, ‘I don’t mind them making it legal, as long as they don’t make it compulsory.’”

They exchanged looks, thinking about how far things had come, how far they had come. Bucky had turned up at Avengers Tower four months after the helicarriers had fallen, and then healing had been able to really begin for them both, together. Bucky and Steve had resumed the relationship that they had started in Brooklyn in 1940. And when Bucky had been ready, it had been revealed to the public what HYDRA had made him do. He had also recently become an Avenger.

Now, they were glad for Tony’s efficient London staff, from the butler/chauffeur who picked them up at the airport, to the cook/housekeeper who gave them a lovely meal and gave them a quick tour of the house before leaving them alone to rest their weary bones.

xXx

Sunlight in the bedroom woke Bucky. He thought it was around 6.00am, but when he looked at the time it was actually 4.30am… Well, at least he could snuggle back down against Steve and doze off again. Which he did.

They still got up at their usual time though, too eager to be up and about and doing things instead of sleeping in, relaxed but excited about their break and not having too much of a problem with jet lag.

They opened the curtains to be met by gray sky and drizzle and a view of the huge BT Tower. The size of the telecommunications tower would have been more impressive if Bucky hadn’t already seen a clip from a 1970s TV show, The Goodies, of a giant white kitten destroying it in a parody of King Kong.

Bucky put on one of the skin-colored arm sheaths that Tony had created for him. They dressed, had a lovely classic British fry up breakfast, and went out into the light-but-constant rain. Since it was summer, the temperature wasn’t too bad. Bucky said, “Well, London isn’t trying to give me frostbite, but it is having a good go at trench foot.”

Steve had already made sure that his favorite camera, with all its bells and whistles (lenses and filters), was in a waterproof case, slung around his neck for quick access. He had promised Peggy that they would take plenty of photos to show her when they got back, and even without that promise, he was a keen photographer anyway.

He asked, “Wherefore shall we wander to?” They had no set-in-stone plans for the day.

Bucky said, “Let’s head down to the Thames, but by a meandering route. We can do the British Museum this afternoon.”

With this weather, it would probably have been sensible to do the British Museum first, but after the plane trip they just wanted to be outside in the fresh air, soaking in London’s atmosphere (while it tried to slowly soak them) and enjoying being on holiday. And the Museum and a number of other things didn’t actually open until 10am.

“It felt weird not having a jog this morning,” Steve said. It sounded like he was making a confession in church.

“We can tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we’ll be doing plenty of walking, and tonight I’m sure our other activities will burn off a few calories at least.” They exchanged looks and grins.

As they walked, Bucky said, “The gaps are gone – all the bombed buildings.”

Steve nodded. “Sometimes it took them decades to rebuild. And space in London is at a premium now.”

When he had first been in London, Bucky had seen rubble with willow herb, buddleia, conch grass, brambles and weeds growing on and in it, after anything potentially useful for rebuilding had been removed. The Blitz itself had been over but there were still dangers of attack, especially from V-1 and V-2 rockets. He remembered the white mortar dust and smell.

Focusing on the present, he was glad to see that no one seemed to recognize them. Perhaps their baseball caps and glasses and the coats that disguised their physiques were enough. Or perhaps people were being very British and giving them privacy.

As they walked along down Shaftesbury Avenue, they came to a science fiction store, and to Steve’s embarrassment, there were Avenger statues, action figures and merchandise in the large front window display. He wanted to move right along at speed. So naturally, Bucky stopped and gazed.

Bucky grinned and said, “Hey, some of these statues of you are pretty good. And in others you look constipated!”

“All that Avenging is hard on the digestive system; you know that.” Steve was embarrassed but snarky. He looked up and down the street. Fortunately, other pedestrians were focused on their own business or were tucked under their umbrellas. It was also a weekday, so children who probably would have noticed them were all in their schoolrooms at the moment.

In the window displays, some of the likenesses of heroes and villains needed to be propped up to prevent them from potentially falling over due to the weight of their weapons or capes or muscles. Unfortunately, the method that the store had chosen was little metal stands between the legs of the figures, holding them up at the crotch.

“My eyes are watering…” Steve said, wincing.

“Crotch claws – the real downfall of superheroes!” Bucky craned for a better look at one of the statues, nearly mashing his face against the glass like an excited child at the zoo. “They got the curve of your ass right on that one.”

“Well, that’s a relief; otherwise I’d have to sue!”

“And that kink you get between your eyebrows when you frown.”

One of the statues was of Captain America pointing dramatically. Bucky chuckled. “What _are_ you pointing at? Your mother used to tell you it was rude to point. Or are you breaking out in song? ‘Stop, in the name of love’?”

Steve was blushing. “I don’t know! They probably used one of JARVIS’s scans of me to do that, instead of actually getting me to pose for it, because I can’t remember it.” Then he spotted another one. “Or that one…”

Bucky looked. It was a great likeness of Steve, cowl and all, but this figure was fiercely clenching his teeth. “Constipation or utter fury?”

“Perhaps they took that one off a photo someone took of me, mid-battle. I’ll have to ask Tony.” He then tried to change the subject by commenting on the Bucky figures, but that was a more difficult task because there weren’t as many of them around yet and also some of them made it look like Bucky was in Winter Soldier mode, which neither of them liked.

Bucky said, “Those Dorbz figures.. They even make the villains look cute and cheerful!” Their little grins were very infectious. Bucky was quite taken with the one of himself. The other various likenesses of him were usually pretty good too.

Then they spotted a smaller Captain America figure. It looked like a version of him from the comic books, with the ‘scales’ style of uniform, and his accessories were at his feet to show the public what the price tag would cover. Unfortunately, the accessories in this instance were a spare head (non-cowled Steve) and his shield.

Bucky and Steve stared at the scene for a long moment, before Steve said, “It looks like I’ve decapitated my own head with the shield…”

“Not their wisest of product placements.”

Bucky took a photo of a Hawkeye figurine, resplendent in purple, and texted it to Clint with the message: _Looking mighty fine, bud!_

He also took one of Tony as ‘The Mechanic’ but decided that he’d show it to Tony later, otherwise Tony would be preening about how amazing a likeness it was. And there were a lot of different Iron Man suit colors. “Does Tony have a deal to have a suit in every Skittles color or something?” Bucky asked.

Steve shrugged. “Wouldn’t surprise me. It would be a good merchandising move.” He took a photo of a fantastic-looking Falcon, wings outstretched, and about to take on a Dracula, to send to Sam.

Then Bucky said, “How about we go in? I could do with a Cap shield t-shirt.”

Steve gave him an exasperated look, took his hand, and moved them along.

Bucky received a text back from Clint, complaining that Bucky had not photographed his best side.

_What, your rear end?_

_Yes!_

They walked a little further and noted the School of Chocolate shop across the other side of the road.

“Okay, we’ll definitely have to visit there later,” Steve said.

Bucky kept his eye out for intriguing architecture, both for his own interest and to point out to Steve, who if he really liked it would photograph it to sketch or paint later, or for their album.

It wasn’t a surprise for Bucky to get a photo of Clint grinning excitedly in front of the Disney store in the Champs-Élysées.

When Steve saw the Disney store picture, he braced himself for a text barrage between Bucky and Clint of who could find the coolest Avengers merch. Or worst. Or who could take the coolest or most cliché tourist photo.

Bucky put his phone away and said, “Since we’re in the area, I’d like to go and see the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain.”

“That was one of the ones they removed for the duration of the war, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. It was so frustrating. All of those years reading about London as a child and then when I got there free of charge due to Uncle Sam, a lot of the things I wanted to see had either been destroyed by bombs or removed for safety.”

Bucky remembered sitting in a bus in London, with its side windows blacked out apart from a tiny spot in each so that people could hopefully work out where they were and when they had to get out. Now he watched the cheerful double decker buses pass by.

They finally located the fountain, with its famous statue. It was a feature of an also famous road junction.

“Well, Piccadilly Circus has changed a bit,” Bucky commented, staring at the big wall of advertising screens on a building which promoted Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Head & Shoulders shampoo (on it sportsmen were advertising _Shoulders carry a reputation not dandruff)_ , Boots (which was a chemist, not shoe sellers or cobblers), vehicles, and so on.

Well, there had been advertising boards here back in the day as well, but not electronic screens playing moving images.

Steve wasn’t too ruffled, now used to such changes. After his first mind-blowing experience in the new Times Square, this was small potatoes. And Piccadilly Circus had been quite a hectic thoroughfare even back in their day.

They approached the statue, resplendent on its fountain, like the decoration on top of a cake. It was at the South-eastern side of the square.

Bucky said, “This used to be in the center of the square. Put there in 1893, I think. It got moved after the War.”

Steve nodded and looked at the statue. “Eros and his bow.”

“That’s what everyone calls him, but he’s actually his lesser-known brother, Anteros. Reflective and mature love, selfless love, instead of sensual love.”

Steve gave Bucky a sidelong look, through those gorgeous long lashes. “Do you have a preference?”

“Both is good. I think we combine both well.”

“Agreed.”

They admired the marine motifs on the fountain. Steve took close ups of the sea creatures and nymphs and photo-bombing pigeons. He then zoomed in on Anteros. “Wow, the details are fantastic.”

Bucky looked up Wikipedia and read out some of the information.

_…first sculpture in the world to be cast in aluminum and is set on a bronze fountain_

_The use of a nude figure on a public monument was controversial at the time of its construction, but it was generally well-received by the public_

Steve said, “He’s not strictly nude though – he’s got drapery over his dignity.”

“Still enough to scandalize in those days.” Bucky said, “This was considered a vulgar part of town because of the theater district, and there was debate about whether the statue was ‘too sensual as a memorial for a famously sober and respectable Earl’.” Lord Shaftesbury had been a noted philanthropist.

At the fountain, a tourist kindly took some photos of them on Steve’s phone, making sure to include the statue and apparently not recognizing them in the process (or perhaps recognizing them but being too shy to make a fuss, or not caring).

Bucky finished looking at the Wikipedia article while Steve took a few more photos. Bucky laughed. “It says here that the fountain and statue were also turned into a snow globe, for Christmas 2013.”

Steve blinked. “What? Seriously?” They looked on his phone.

They found a picture of it, on the Twitter of a British actress, Sarah Parish, who had posted it with the comment: _Some days I love London SO much I want to hug it and kiss it and call it Barbara_

And yes, there was the archer, encased in a PVC snow globe, which apparently had internal fans blowing ‘snow flakes’ around. And it looked great… until strong winds damaged it and it had to be deflated and packed up.

In a comment to the tweet, someone had asked why there was a giant condom over Eros.

Steve and Bucky chuckled. They looked away from the fountain and saw that Ripley’s Believe It or Not was just across the road.

Steve considered it, then said, “I’ll pass on that. My life has been a Believe it or Not.”

“Same.”

In the meantime, Clint had sent them a photo from inside the Disney store, of adorable little Iron Man and Captain America costumes for children, and also a poster from the front of a jewelry store, which had an ad campaign featuring a man who looked a lot like a short-haired Thor.

Bucky replied: _Cool! But aren’t you supposed to be enjoying your time with Nat? In the CITY OF LOVE_

Clint replied: _She’s clothes shopping, so I’m entertaining myself until she’s (a) finished or until (b) she wants my opinion_

_Steve said to tell you his money’s on A_

_So’s mine,_ Clint responded.

They reached Trafalgar Square, considering whether to go into the National Portrait Gallery and Café in the Crypt or to keep pressing on to the Thames.

“I want to see the portrait of Richard III and the sketch of T E Lawrence,” Steve said.

“Same here.” They had both had become extremely interested in Richard, especially since his body had been found under a Leicester car park. Like with Captain America, he’d had propaganda that had grown around him that wasn’t really accurate, and in Richard’s case he had been turned into a villain when it wasn’t necessarily the truth. “But I’d really like to do a river cruise first.”

Standing in Trafalgar Square, they could see Big Ben in the distance. Bucky then gazed up at the statue of Nelson. “That is a very tall pillar…”

“Apparently that’s because it’s the height of his ship’s main mast.”

“Makes sense. The history here is just amazing.”

They looked around the rain-drenched square. “They say that London is a water color and New York is an oil painting,” Steve said.

“Very true at the moment.”

After wandering around the Square, taking photos and admiring the statues, they decided to have a stroll down King Charles Street.

As they walked, they looked at each other, very aware that over seventy years ago they had been receiving orders from Phillips in underground chambers beneath this very street. In the warren of bunkers, Steve had given Peggy the map of HYDRA bases that he had memorized at Azzano, he had found and chosen the vibranium shield, Bucky had rejected Phillips’ offer of an honorable discharge, they had met Winston Churchill, plans had been hatched and issued by the Allies, and much more.

The Cabinet War Rooms were now a tourist spot, but that was another item for the ‘another day’ list. They went on down to reacquaint themselves with Big Ben.

They found a suitable vantage point where they would not be in the way of pedestrians and stared up at it, admiring the beauty of the architecture and the clock face.

Steve recited:

“I am Big Ben

Hear what I say

All you other clocks

Get out of my way.”

Then he smiled. “Well-timed too – nearly on the hour. And since it’s still morning, we’ll get a good dose of the bell.”

Bucky said, “The last time I remember seeing it, there were barrage balloons and sandbags everywhere. People in uniforms.”

It was like seeing London in a double-view, of then and now. Like when he and Steve went around New York. London still bustled, but its people were wearing different fashions. Bucky remembered the attitudes of the Brits during the War, their defiant ‘We can take it. We can do it,’ when their own homes were under attack.  

Clint sent them a brief video he’d taken of a store from the Champs-Élysées. Above the shop front there were window boxes of green vines but also nestled up there was a bubble-making machine, sending beautiful clouds of bubbles down over the shoppers and tourists.

They smiled at the sight, then were jolted out of that by Big Ben starting to sound the hour, pulling them back from contemplation of Paris. Big Ben really was doing a: ‘Hey, don’t be distracted from me; I’ll make you hear what I have to say!’

Steve and Bucky listened, then afterwards Bucky said, “That sounded great, but the bell’s actually cracked, isn’t it? I think Peggy mentioned something, back in the day.”

“Yeah. I think they just turned it around in place enough so that the striker would hit an undamaged bit.”

Bucky checked Wikipedia and announced that in 1949 the clock had slowed by 4.5 minutes after a flock of starlings perched on the minute hand.

Steve took a photo of Bucky and the clock tower. “Bucky Barnes and Big Ben. The two BBs hanging out.”

A few minutes later, Bucky said, “I remember you said that the Whip & Fiddle pub was bombed.” _After I fell._ “Did they rebuild it?”

Steve replied quietly, “No. It’s shiny office buildings now – multi-story.”

Sometimes, Bucky reflected, you just couldn’t go back.

When they started to head across Westminster Bridge, Bucky noticed a familiar statue across the other side of the road of three women in a chariot, with a souvenir stall right in front of its plinth. Another piece of the past, like him and Steve, still here in the present.

Boadicea and her daughters. The Queen of the Celtic Iceni people, who in AD 60 or 61 had revolted against the Romans who ruled Britain. Led by her, the Iceni had attacked Londinium and burned it to the ground. Now the statue of her and her daughters gazed out at the new city that had developed in its place.

Bucky reflected that whatever culture shock he and Steve experienced would be mild compared to Boadicea’s if she appeared in the modern day.

They went over the bridge then crossed the road when they could, and walked down beside the Thames. They bought ice creams and the plan was to eat them while they meandered, however Steve then got an itch to sketch and stopped to scratch it, so consumed his ice cream in a few quick bites to leave his hands free for more important things.

Clint sent them a view of the very tight spiral staircase that he and Natasha had just climbed up in the Arc de Triomphe.

_The corkscrew of pain That staircase was a message to me to do MORE CARDIO_

The views that he sent from up there were worth the exertions. Nat looked like she was having great fun too. She and Clint both looked different – whether it was due to their spy talents regarding not drawing attention to themselves or Nat’s different hair color and cut or them being so relaxed while on break, Bucky wasn’t sure.

_Did you two haul a heap of shopping bags up there?_

_Nah, Nat’s getting the stores to deliver_

London’s rain had stopped though it was still overcast. Steve and Bucky went on a tour boat trip along the Thames, starting from near the London Eye. Again, they seemed to be blissfully incognito and some kind crew member had toweled down the rows of plastic seats on the top level of the boat which were exposed to the elements, so wet behinds were avoided.

The boat trip was entertaining, with one of the crew giving a potted history over the public address system about the landmarks they were passing. The guide was very informative and humorous, which were a great combination.

He said about the London Eye, “It takes 15 minutes for an observation pod to get from the bottom to the very top of the wheel. Some people propose up there, and my advice is that if you do, be very sure that you’ll get a ‘Yes’, otherwise it is a very long and awkward 15 minutes back down to Terra Firma…”

Steve and Bucky chuckled along, with the rest of the boatload.

The boat passed Cleopatra’s Needle – an Ancient Egyptian obelisk – which was not actually hers but it was a cool-sounding name.

The guide pointed out the OXO tower, which had been built by makers of Oxo stock cubes in the late 1920s. The owners had wanted to put advertising on the tower for their product, but were refused permission. “So, they constructed windows going down the sides of the tower that were cunningly in the shape of O, X and another O!”

Bucky looked at his lover. “That’s a very you sort of solution, Steve. Work around the problem; or leap right on it.”

“I like it.”

Yep, if you couldn’t reach the flagpole flag, you got it to come to you instead…

They saw the replica of the Globe Theater and then the Tate Modern art gallery.

Bucky could tell from the look on Steve’s face (and just from knowing Steve), that a visit to the Tate Modern was in their future, just like with the National Portrait Gallery.  He didn’t mind. He enjoyed art too and had picked up a lot of knowledge about it.

When the boat approached London Bridge, ready to go under it, Bucky leaned over and said to Steve, “Apparently, the song _London Bridge is falling down_ was about a king’s impotence.”

He could tell that the same thing was running through Steve’s mind as his own:

_Build it up with sticks and stones_

_My fair lady_

They both tried to restrain their giggling at _that_ image.

A woman sitting a few seats away from them also chuckled. When they looked at her, she whispered in an Australian accent, “I’ve heard that too. Can’t find reference to it on Wikipedia though!”

Bucky suggested that the three of them pose for photos with London Bridge in the background (childish pointing and laughing optional). They were already sitting in the last row of seats at the back of the boat, so it was easy enough to set up when the boat had moved along a bit more. He used his indefatigable selfie arm (the metal one) to take the shot several times on both the Australian’s phone and his own.

She was delighted. “Thank you so much; I’ll treasure that.”

In-between the guide’s remaining commentary, they chatted with her. It was clear that she knew who they were and was a fan, but she was being careful not to say or do anything that would draw attention to them.

The boat trip ended at the Tower of London, right near Tower Bridge. They had timed it well, as they got to see the Bridge raise to let a ship through.

Steve and Bucky considered going into the Tower of London, but some other tourists recognized them and were of the very painful type (invasive, grabby, demanding, no concept of personal space, etc), so Steve and Bucky slipped away from them at the first opportunity with as much diplomacy as possible and got on a nearby Hop-on Hop-off bus, and managed a clean getaway without any hangers-on following them.

“We’ll be back at some stage, I promise,” Bucky said to the Tower as it disappeared into the distance.

xXx

 


	2. Chapter 2

xXx

After a fortifying lunch, it was time to go to the British Museum.

As soon as they were inside, Bucky said to Steve, “I could spend days in here, and so could you.”

“True. So where should we start?”

“The Rosetta Stone!” Bucky replied. To see it with his own eyes at last would be fantastic.

It was a very crowded display. But they were also very tall men so they could see over the heads of other people, and they were also strong enough to be able to stand their ground instead of being dragged along with a crowd.

Bucky said, “It’s amazing to be looking at something two thousand years old…” And that until the stone had been discovered in 1799, the ability to read Egyptian hieroglyphs had been lost for a thousand years.

Then they absorbed themselves with other nearby objects, including Egyptian and Assyrian artifacts.

They went back out in the main foyer, called the Great Court, for a rest and to decide what to look at next. While there, they stared in amusement at a marble statue on a plinth. It was life-sized, of a young Roman man on horseback. According to the information panel, it was probably a Julio-Claudian prince circa AD 30s-40s. The man was naked apart from his sandals and cloak. The cloak didn’t hide his assets at all as it was draped artfully down his back and over one arm. The horse wasn’t saddled either.

Bucky said, “Dude, you rock. But doesn’t that _chafe_?”

Heck, even riding bareback while wearing shorts could be very uncomfortable on the rider’s legs…

Steve shrugged and laughed. “An early case of suffering for one’s art, I guess. Nice to see some equality. Eros or Anteros, take note.”

“A male version of Lady Godiva, perhaps. Though she had long hair as her ‘discrete drapery’. Boadicea and her daughters didn’t get to have that.”

Steve then took a photo of Bucky standing next to the statue, while quirking an eyebrow at it.

“Did that come out okay with the flash off?”

“Yeah, your bemused expression comes through loud and clear.”

When they were in the Roman section, looking at the male lovers on the Warren Cup, Steve leaned in and whispered in Bucky’s ear from behind, “Is that giving you ideas of what we can do tonight?”

Bucky smirked. “Is that your camera or are you pleased to see me?”

They looked in fascination at the Vindolanda tablets – correspondence from the people who had lived at and near a fort during the Roman occupation of Britain in the first and second centuries AD.

Steve enthused, “I love seeing all the amazing things that people have made, how beautiful or weird or intricate they are, but I love this sort of stuff too: everyday objects and messages from the past, showing what people are thinking and feeling and what they want. Like this guy here, saying that his men are out of beer!”

“Some things never change.”

In the Sutton Hoo section, Steve soon sat down and began sketching, captivated with the designs.

After a while, Bucky said, “Tony hasn’t sent us any jokes about us looking at things that are actually older than us. He must be busy inventing something.”

When they looked at the Elgin marbles, they also read a notice about the controversy surrounding the museum having them.

Bucky said, “It’s great to see all these slices of history, but it also feels a bit uncomfortable that there are things here which should be displayed in their countries of origin.”

“Yeah. If they’re things that are displayed on special loan or bought fairly, that’s fine.”

Then they had a look in the gift shops. The main gift shop seemed to have the Rosetta Stone in every incarnation conceivable, including: small resin paperweight replicas, key rings, various bags, ties, postcards, business card holders, stress toys…

When they left the Museum, they saw a text from Clint:

_The statue ratio in London: Statue   Statue   Statue_

_The statue ratio in Paris: StatueStatueStatue (with gold on top!)_

xXx

Back at the townhouse, Steve said, “The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow. How about we do the London Eye then? I’ll sort it out.”

Bucky smiled. “Sure. We’ve looked at some of the past, so we might as well do some modern. And we should do a trip to Leicester next week.” They wanted to go to the Richard III Visitor’s Centre and to his new grave near it.

Steve nodded, then became distracted by downloading his numerous photos onto his laptop.

Bucky reached over and ran his fingers down the back of Steve’s neck. “I’m going to run a bath. Join me?”

Steve shivered. “I will when I’ve sorted out about our London Eye trip. And we can’t soak for too long, because we’ve got dinner reservations.”

xXx

That night, the butler drove them to a highly recommended restaurant. As they sat in the back of the Bentley, heading along Marylebone Road, Bucky’s gaze was caught by a building. Madame Tussauds. And the fact that it had a huge sign on it, advertising an _Avengers experience_ … complete with photos of Iron Man, Cap and co.

“Oh Steve! Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeve!” Bucky said gleefully, bouncing on his seat.

“What?” Then Steve saw what Bucky was so eager about and looked horrified. “Oh no. No no no! Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“Oh yes! We HAVE to go there!”

“No, we don’t! And I thought we didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves.” Steve was nearly twisting himself into knots with embarrassment.

“They’re like giant action figures! We need to see that they’ve captured the likenesses correctly.” Bucky was safe in the knowledge that a wax-work of himself had not been done yet. “And didn’t you give the okay to it and go to the launch party?”

“Tony went, and most of the others, I think. I was pretty distracted at that stage, looking for you.”

That made the smile drop off Bucky’s face.

He realized that similar had probably happened with the action figures and statues that Steve couldn’t recall authorizing. He’d probably passed the job onto Tony or given a distracted ‘okay’, busy looking for or tending to Bucky.

Bucky reached out and put his hand on Steve’s knee. Steve put his own hand over the top and squeezed.

xXx

That night, when Steve came out of the bathroom, ready for bed, he found Bucky waiting for him, decked out only in a cape made from a bed sheet.

“I’m ready to go for a ride,” Bucky told him.

Steve grinned but pointed out, “We’re not in Coventry.”

“What’s that rhyme? _Ride a cock-horse_?”

And ride they did.

xXx

The next day was indeed much better, weather-wise.

“How long a queue will it be to get onto the London Eye?” Bucky asked at breakfast.

Steve swallowed his mouthful of scrambled eggs and said, “We get VIP access. And I’ve got us a private pod. That way we can get great views and I can take some really artistic photos, without other people accidentally photobombing them.”

“You love that camera more than you love me.”

“No, I love it equally.”

“It’s jealous of us. It keeps getting in the way when we kiss.”

xXx

London Eye:

They spent a pleasant time in the VIP lounge and then they stepped into their observation pod.

As they rose in the air, they gazed and moved around to get the best views of various sights. The side facing the river offered great views. The other side was buildings. ‘Can't get 360 degree awesome’, someone had joked. Still, they were interesting buildings.

And there was the beautiful Thames – though the river had led German pilots up into London of a night during WW II.

There was plenty of, “Hey, look at that!” comments to each other and Bucky was taking almost as many photos on his phone as Steve was with his camera. “Hey, we’ll have to go there at some stage!”

When the pod neared the top of the wheel, they were standing side by side.

Bucky could sense Steve stepping back behind him, probably moving to get a picture of Bucky silhouetted against such a stunning backdrop. But one of Steve’s hands was resting on the back of the waistband of his jeans, and then Steve gave an attention-seeking tug.

“What’s -” Bucky started to ask as he turned. He stopped and his gaze dropped to where Steve was _kneeling_ in front of him. A particularly earnest and determined Steve.

“Oh, hello,” Bucky blurted out in surprise as his mind readjusted to the difference of where he had expected Steve to be versus where he was – and why. Was Steve actually going to…?

Instinctively, Bucky pocketed his phone to leave his hands free.

Steve took Bucky’s right hand and held something up in his other hand to place in Bucky’s metal one. Bucky saw that it was a Rosetta Stone paperweight.

“You’re my Rosetta Stone, Buck. You make things make sense.” Steve took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”

Bucky squawked in shock, then recovered, grinning in delight. “Yes. _Yes_ , you smooth idiot!”

Steve stood up, beaming, and Bucky leapt at him to kiss him and embrace him.

“Where’s your camera?” Bucky murmured against Steve’s lips.

“I put it down on the floor. Watch where you step.”

No wonder Steve had wanted to get his camera out of the way. Bucky paused briefly to put the paperweight in one of his pockets.

London continued to put on her best show outside the pod, the Thames shimmering in the sun like a giant diamond necklace, buildings gleaming, so much history and beauty and memories at their feet, but the two men inside the pod completely ignored her charms as they kissed and hugged and broke apart a little to breathe and laugh and exclaim:

“I can’t believe you did this!”

Steve shrugged endearingly. “Well, they do have a ‘proposal pod’ that you can hire, but it comes with champagne and stuff that would have made you suspicious, and there was also a ‘host’, who then takes a photo of the proposal, and I didn’t want that; I wanted it just to be us.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “I should have known something was up when the river tour guide talked about proposals, because you didn’t make a wisecrack to me about it! Did he give you the idea?”

“I’ve been wanting to propose. I just wasn’t sure where. Doing it here sounded like a good idea.”

Bucky said, “The paperweight might be difficult to wear as a ring.”

“We can choose rings together.” Steve took the opportunity to move his camera to a safer distance so that they didn’t step on it. “I was so tempted to take a photo of your stunned face. But I hadn’t proposed yet.”

They resumed kissing.

Bucky chuckled, about an inch from Steve’s lips. “Are we fogging up the pod?”

Steve kept gazing at him. “Probably.”

“We’re missing the views,” Bucky teased.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Do you care?”

“No, I’ve got a great view. The best view. And we can always have another go on this Ferris wheel at some other stage.”

They stood there, so close, holding hands and also with an arm around each other, smiling like college sweethearts.

Steve said, “They usually only let a minimum of three people in a pod – even with the proposal one, there’s still the host. But I was able to arrange this.”

“Without dropping Tony’s name?”

“Yes. I do have some influence. I don’t use it often, but this seemed appropriate.”

The pod was slowly on its way down, but their moods were up and bubbling. Then something caught Bucky’s eye and he reluctantly but instinctively tore his gaze from Steve to look.

“Um, I know you wanted this to be private, but I think the people in that pod have recognized us…”

Steve turned and looked.

There were people in one of the nearest pods who were gazing at _them_ , not the London panorama, and holding their phones up, filming them. Some were torn between the London views and the super soldier views. Quite a dilemma to have. Bucky could lip read, and there were plenty of, “It’s Steve and Bucky!” “He was proposing!” “I’ve got to put this on Twitter!” and at least one, “Oh for God’s sake, give them some _privacy_!”

Steve groaned, refrained from swearing, then rallied. “Keep looking at the views?” he suggested.

Bucky shook his head. “Come here, you! If they want a show, they’ll get one.”

“Are you going to get us arrested for indecency?”

They did more kissing (or ‘snogging’ in the local parlance).

Steve’s phone started to ring. They knew it was Tony because he had set up several ringtones.

‘T.N.T.’ by AC/DC was a ‘normal’ Tony call.

A trumpet fanfare was an ‘Avengers Assemble’ call.

And if they heard the Crazy Frog ringtone instead, it meant: _I don’t care what you’re up to, this isn’t an ‘Assemble’ call but you still need to pick up the phone RIGHT NOW and the sooner you do, the sooner this irritating noise will end_.

And right now, Steve’s phone was doing the latter.

So, Steve answered it.

Bucky could hear Tony say, “Congratulations on your engagement, and it is now ALL over the internet. You set a new cyber record.”

Steve sighed. “Oh man…”

Bucky laughed. Steve gave him an exasperated look, but he couldn’t help it. Not in this situation. “At least he’s not calling to tell us to assemble as Avengers,” he told Steve.

Tony continued, “JARVIS is liaising with the London Eye people to organize security and a car for the two of you, so you can get through the joyous hordes of well-wishers and press intact. Everyone and their dog want a selfie with The Couple of the Year or to sell their pictures of you to the press. You’re bigger than Wills and Kate.”

“Thanks, Tony. We appreciate it.”

“I’ll collect. I’ve got plans for your stag night and your wedding…” With that and an evil cackle, he hung up.

 _That_ made Bucky groan.

Steve gave him the apologetic doe-eyed look. “Sorry, Buck. I wanted this to be private, just us. Perhaps I should have proposed in our hotel room, but when this was mentioned, it seemed like such a good idea.”

“I loved your proposal.”

The pod continued to get closer to the ground and they could see the gathering masses.

“I might as well have proposed in front of the real Rosetta Stone!” Steve said. He retrieved his camera and put it around his neck.

They looked at each other, held hands, and braced themselves.

When they stepped out, it was to joyous pandemonium. The security and police were having their work cut out in trying to keep the public at bay. The press had also possibly broken the laws of physics to get there so quickly en masse (or had possibly been in the nearby Houses of Parliament before realizing they had a much better news item).

“Steve! Bucky!”

“Congratulations!”

“When will you get married? Will you get married here?”

“Captain, what was it that you proposed with?”

With some cheerful waves and thank yous and mysterious smiles, they got into the back of the vehicle JARVIS had arranged, which had heavily-tinted windows and a very competent-looking driver.

Their phones were buzzing with messages from the other Avengers. Bucky leaned back in the seat and commented, “I stepped into that pod with a partner and stepped out of it with a fiancé.”

“Stepped onto it anonymous – sort of – and stepped off to rock star crowds…” Steve said.

“So now we go back to the house and spend the rest of the day celebrating in bed? With perhaps a break for dinner so that we keep up our nutrition and strength?”

Steve grinned. “I could do that all day.”

Bucky got the Rosetta Stone paperweight out of his pocket and looked at it. “You managed to buy this while I was in the bog or loo, as they say?”

“Yeah, I put it in my jacket pocket, because if you patted my rear end, as you are sometimes wont to do, then that would have ruined it.”

“But your behind IS rock-hard!”

Natasha had already texted to congratulate them. Now she texted:

_If you want Clint and I to do something attention-grabbing over here to divert the press and public from the two of you, let us know_

Bucky replied, _Propose to Clint and we can have a double wedding_

_No, I’m saving that for Leap Year Day_

Before they got back to Tony’s London townhouse, Bucky took a photo of the Rosetta Stone paperweight, then put it up on his social media accounts.

_Steve gave me this when he proposed. Now we’re going to get in some practicing for our honeymoon… XXXX_

When they got to the townhouse, Bucky whisked Steve to their bedroom.

“I’ve already given you my yes, but here’s another one.”

It proved to be the most passionate and enthusiastic YES that Steve had ever been on the receiving end of. No structural damage resulted to the house but all of the paintings in their room ended up hanging at crooked angles.

xXx

The next morning as they got dressed, Bucky announced, “The English are preening that you proposed in their yard. And the British Museum has now sold out of those paperweight replicas.”

“Well, they’ve got a zillion other pieces of Rosetta Stone merchandise, and the real thing, so they’ll cope.”

“The new cool accessory to propose with. Though some people have said that you seem to have got the wrong idea about getting me a big rock to propose with.”

Steve laughed, then said, “Do you remember that recently there was a trend of weddings having cupcakes instead of an actual wedding cake?”

“No, but go on.”

“A bakery is offering to do cupcakes for our wedding reception, putting them on a mini replica London Eye as a showpiece, or seeing as that will probably not be enough for all the multitudes at our wedding – or for us with our super soldier appetites – they then thought they could instead do a bigger model of the London Eye and make oblong-shaped cakes to look like each pod.”

“Oh Lord. Though then each cake could be a different flavor…”

“I guess that’s why cupcakes have become so popular at weddings.”

Over breakfast, Steve mused, “I should have waited until later in our vacation to propose. Now everyone, not just the press, is going to be following us and not leaving us alone. We won’t be able to enjoy the sights and wandering around. Perhaps we should get out of London for a few days; do that Leicester trip now instead of next week.”

“Don’t worry; Nat has sent us an express post parcel that’ll help.”

“Sexy underwear and ‘toys’ to keep us busy in bed for a few days?”

“No, though that’s certainly a great idea. She sent us some of those ‘face-o-mesh’ masks, so we can alter our identities.”

“True friends.”

xXx

With their different facial identities in place, they headed out for a walk.

“Let’s try the School of Chocolate,” Steve said.

“I think I can be convinced,” Bucky replied.

As they walked, they went past the sci fi store again, only this time there was a crowd at its large feature window, chatting excitedly, laughing, and taking photos. Steve and Bucky decided to investigate.

Again, their heights, strength and patience paid off. Soon, they could see what all the fuss and delight was about.

The display in the window had been changed to a giant wedding. It must have taken the store all night to do.

There was bunting galore and there were pairings of Bucky and Steve marrying, as Dorbtz figures, as Funko Pops, and so on…

What was even funnier were the wedding parties.

Vader was there. Wolverine was officiating. The Dalek bridesmaids were cool. And Gollum as the ring-bearer was quite the touch.

Bucky told Steve, “I too want to hug and kiss London and call her Barbara.”

“Don’t make me jealous.”

“Oh, do you want to be called Barbara? I can do that.”

Laughing, they took photos of the display, then walked on, hand in hand, through the London day, ready to keep exploring.

xXx

 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes to Chapter 2:  
> With perfect timing, today is actually the one year anniversary of the boat trip I took on the Thames, where the tour guide mentioned about people proposing on the London Eye. I had been wanting to do a fic of Steve and Bucky revisiting London, and the guide gave me the additional plot bunny for it. So, City Cruises tour guide from 1 June 2016, thank you from the bottom of my little shipper heart!
> 
> Ironically, when I was on my trip I didn’t actually end up going on the London Eye, but Ainonspn did, so thank you very much to her for sharing her memories of it with me and her photos and putting up with all of my questions.
> 
> Many thanks to Onyourleftbooob for her wise advice, to Cordeliadelayne for betaing, and to Janetmayfire for Tony’s ring tones! 
> 
> I hadn’t realized that Madame Tussauds had a Marvel display until I was being driven in a taxi cab past it on the very day that I was heading to the airport to leave England… If I’d realized sooner, I could have got a photo with Steve after all. 
> 
> There are photos to go with this fic, including some in the end notes for Chapter 1 (which have somehow ended up below these notes instead - every time I try to fix it, I end up accidentally deleting something...), and this link here, which is to my action figures recreating the Rosetta Stone proposal:  
> https://musings-on-bucky-barnes.tumblr.com/post/161311857653/photoart-for-my-cap-fic-the-london-eyeful

**Author's Note:**

> These are the author's notes for Chapter 1, which have somehow ended up beneath the author's notes for Chapter 2... Sorry, I'm not sure how to fix it.
> 
> Thanks so much to Ainonspn – for being a great friend and coming with me on the London trip, and taking the photos which I’ve had so much fun looking back over.
> 
> Thank you to Onyourleftbooob for your help and to Cordeliadelayne for betaing!
> 
> The comment about the legalization of homosexuality is paraphrased from Michael Caine’s first autobiography, where he mentioned seeing it on TV back in the day. The descriptions of the vegetation that grew in the ruins of the bombed buildings is from The Blitz: The British Under Attack by Juliet Gardiner. 
> 
> And yes, I Mary-Sue-d myself into this fic. I’d been wanting to go to England for years, and in 2016 I had finally just committed to making the trip when I found out that Sebastian Stan and Chris Evans were going to be at the Philadelphia Wizard Con at that same time… I really wanted to go and meet them (it was even going to be on my birthday), but I’d already talked my friend Ainonspn into coming to England with me and she’d started making bookings. So, I did do England that year and had a wonderful time and the best birthday ever, but I think you can understand why I couldn’t resist letting my fictional self meet the boys in a cameo. Hopefully they’d do another con soon. 
> 
> The sci fi store I came across in London was Forbidden Planet, which at the time had a Captain America: Civil War display. The Cap action figures in this fic are a mix of ones that I’ve come across over the last few years, including at a recent Melbourne sci fi convention (which is where I saw the dreaded ‘crotch claws’).
> 
> Here are some pics to go with Chapter 1 (mostly of the Steve figures):  
> https://musings-on-bucky-barnes.tumblr.com/post/161159118013/photos-to-go-with-my-the-london-eyeful-fic


End file.
